If the New York Knicks do reach the NBA Finals, noted fan/critic Stephen A. Smith believes they’ll be be Thunderstruck.
The Knicks kept their championship chances alive with a 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, but that did little to sway the ESPN personality’s fleeting optimism about a Larry O’Brien Trophy hoist, which would be New York’s first since 1973.
Should the Knicks win the final two games of the ECF against the Pacers, they’ll face theOklahoma City Thunder for a chance at NBA immortality. But, having kept an eye on the Thunder’s recent exploits through the Worldwide Leader’s coverage of the Western Conference Finals, Smith doesn’t believe it’s in the cards.
“I give them zero chance, zero, of beating the Oklahoma City Thunder if they were to advance to the Finals,” Smith said on Friday’s edition of “First Take.” “Days ago, I’m like ‘we got a chance.’ Then I watched [the WCF] and I see those bodies that they throw and I see the New York Knicks’ style of play and the lack of personnel and you see the way Oklahoma City defends. That has taken some of the luster off my championship aspirations for the New York Knicks.”
The Knicks were one of Oklahoma City’s many victims during the regular season, having dropped both editions of their annual interconference couple by a combined 35 points. The Thunder, who carry the services of newly-minted NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and former Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein, made quick work of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the WCF, winning four of five games by an average margin of over 18 points.
Smith, well-known for using ESPN’s airwaves to rant about the Knicks, certainly isn’t complaining about a potential return trip to the Finals, which would be the franchise’s first since 1999. Adding to the banner collection, however, would allegedly take “divine intervention.”
“There is no basketball element, ingredient, snippet, whatever, nothing-basketball-wise that makes me believe they can beat Oklahoma City,” Smith firmly declared.
